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sheets-sneen 1.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. H.- WALKER.

PHOTOGRAPHIG CAMERA. l No. 276,311. Patented Ap1.Z4,L883.

(No Model.) l 3 Sheets-'Sheet 3. W. H. WALKER.

PHOTOGRAPHIG GAMBRA.

Patented Apr. 24, 1883.

um i14 N. PETERS. PHum-Limngnpnnr, waminpnn. D, C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. WALKER, OF ROCHESTER, NEWT YORK, ASSIGNOR TO VILLIAM H.WALKER & OO., OF SAME PLACE.

PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERA.

SPECIFICATION fmmng part ot' Letters Patent No. 276,311, dated April 24,1883.

Application filed June 26, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WALKER., ofRochester, Monroe county, New York, have invented an ImprovedPhotographic Camera,

of which the following is a specilication, ret'erence being had to theannexed drawings.

Porta-ble photographic cameras as heretofore constructed have beenprovided with a hinged or jointed bed, the rear portion of which was Iofolded up in rear ot' the focusing screen-frame when the camera wasclosed. This arrangenient, which also weakened the bed, prevented thecamera from being closed up any more compactly than the length ofthepart ot' the jointed I5 bed in front of the hinge.

My invention has for its object the production ot' a camera which, whenfolded up, will occupy in a direction parallel to the optical axis onlythe width or depth of the front and zo back frames combined; and itconsists in providing the camera with a swivel-bed, and in the variousmechanical details of the construction.

It also consists in an improved mode of forming the camera. front orback from a suitable molding, all as hereinafter more fully set i'orth.

M yim proved photographic camera is represented in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view oi' the camera 3o whenclosed. Fig.2 is a side view ot' the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of theswivel-bed. Fig. 4 'represents the focusing-pinion and clamping-nut.Fig. 5 is a section on the line a m, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a section on theline y y, Fig. 3,

showing also one ot' the sliding blocks. Fig. 7 is an inverted viewofthe sliding block, which supports the back of the camera. Fig. 8 is aside view of the molding from which the camera front, back, andfocusing-screen i'rame are 4o constructed. Fig. 9 is a section on theline y y, Fig. S. Fig. 10 is a front view o'l the camera when open, thelens and sliding` front being removed. Fig. 101 is a section on the linez c, Fig. 1. Fig. 1l is a side view of the camera when open or extended.Fig. 12 is an inverted View of the camera when open, showing theposition of the parts when closed in dotted lines. Fig. 13 is a frontview of the camera when open, showing a modified arrangement of thefocusing-pinion. Fig. 1liC is a central 5o vertical section ot' thesame. Fig. 15 represents the swivel-bed adapted to be used with themodified arrangement ofthe focusing-pinion. Fig. 16 is a plan view ofthe swivel-bed provided with an extensionslide. Fig. 17 is a 55 sideview of the same. Fig. 1S is a side view of the salue extended. Fig. 19is a plan view ot a modification of the swivel-bed, showingfocusing-screw. Fig. 2O is a transverse section ofthe same on the line.o e, Fig. 19. Fig. 6o 2l is a section through the swivel-bed on theline y y, Figs. 1G, 17, and 1S. Fig. 22 is a section through themolding, showing a nioditication.

In the accompanying drawings, represcnting my invention, A is thecamera-front; B, the back; O, the swivel-bed; D, the focusingscreenframe; E, the lens, F, the tripod-head,

and II, the sliding front.

L is the bellows, which is constructed in any 7o usual way ot' leatheror other suitable material, being attached to the interiorot' the t'rontand back, as represented in Fig. 14. 'Ihe bellows is attached to thet'ront and back ot' the camera by applying a strip ot' molding` along 75its edges, which strip is secured to the wood by tacks or screws.

The front and back ot' the camera are supported on the tripod-head F bymeans of the swivel-bed (l, which consists ot' a circular boss 8o orplate, n, provided on its opposite sides with bars d, Fig. 3. The boss cis provided on its upper side with a circular recess, b, the edges ofwhich are undercut or beveled, as represented in the sectional view,Fig. 5. The bars d are provided with undercut or beveled channels c,which extend lengthwise along them, and are made ot' the saine depth asthe recess l) in the central boss, c. The iront and baci; ofthe cameraare attached to the sliding 9o blocks m and n, havingbeveled edgesadapted to slide freely in the channels c. When the camera is opened ordistended the sliding blocks occupy positions at or near the outer endsot' the bars d., which are provided with 95 slotsf, so that the blocks mn may be secured by the binding-screws ik. These screws conipress theends ot' the bars slightly, so as to bind the blocks in the beveledchannels c. When the camera is closed up the blocks m a occupy thepositions represented by the dotted lines m and ain Fig. 3. Theoutcrendsot' the sliding blocks m a are curved and beveled to adapt themtothe shape of the edges ofthe recess b.

rIhe construction and operation ofthe various parts in ope-ning andclosing the camera will be readily understood from an inspection oftheinverted view, Fig. 12, in which the position of the parts when thecamera is open is shown in full lines, while the position ot' the sameparts when the camera is closed is represented in dotted lines.

In closing up the camera the front and back are moved toward each other,the blocks m n sliding in the channels in the bars d until the front andback come in contact with each other, as represented by the dotted linesA B', Fig. 12. 'Ihe swivel-bed is then turned around so as to occupy aposition parallel with the front and back, as represented by the dottedlines C d', Fig. 12. The blocks m n are made of such a length thattogether they lill the recess b in the center of the bars on theswivel-bed. The curved and beveled ends ot' the blocks m iz, projectingunder the undercut edges of the recess, serve to maintain the connectionbetween the swivel-bed and the front and back of the camera when thecamera is closed. The sliding blocks may be provided with iianges q, asrepresented in full lines in Fig. 6, and in dotted lines in liig.21,bywhich they are affixed to the camera back and front; or they may beattached thereto by countersunlt screws passing through the block, asindicated in Fig. 21. The curved and beveled outer ends of the blocks ma are represented at o, Figs. 7 and 111.

In order to provide for a focusing adj ustment on my improved camera,the lower side of one ofthe sliding blocks is formed into a rack, asrepresented in inverted view, Fig. 7, which rack meshes with a smallpinion, g, located in a suitable socket at or near the outer end of oneof the bars d of the swivel-bed. rlhe pinion g is provided with acollar, l, and a thumbnut, h, and a threaded stem,j, which projectsentirely through the bed and receives the binding-nut t'.

In order to focus the image clearly on the screen, the adjustment ismade by turning the thumb-nut 7i, after which the sliding block n isbound in the groove by turning up the nut t'.

In order to adapt my camera to be used with long-focus lenses, or toprovide a greater range ot' adjustment than can be secured by the rackon the sliding block and the pinion g, I provide the swivel-bed C withan extension-slide, N. The extension-slide is arranged to move freelywithin a suitable groove formed in the swivelbed, as represented in thesectional view, Fig. 21. By means of a binding-screw, r, theextension-slide may be clamped in any desired position in the groove inthe swivelbed. The extension N is provided on its upper side with anundercut groove, c', which receives the sliding block m', to which thefront or back of the camera is attached. Provision is made for fasteningthe block m in position in the groove in the extension-slide by means ofthe clamping-screw s, Figs. 17 and 1S. rIhc position of the parts whenextended is represented in Figs. 16 and 1S at N m. By the use ot' thisextension-slide the camera may be distended sufficiently to adapt it tobe used with lenses ot' long focus.

In Figs. 14 and 15 I have represented another modification, by meanso'fwhich a greater range of adjustment may be obtained than by the use otthe sliding block provided with a rack, as` represented in FiO. 7. Inthis case the bottom ot' the groove c in the swivel-bed is provided witha rack, and the front or back of the camera is provided with a pinion,i, which meshes with the rack. The pinion t is carriedv by a horizontalshaft, arranged to rotate in suitable bearings beneath the camera, andprovided at its outer end with a thumbnut, e. By turning the thumb-nutothe pinion will be rotated and that portiolfof the camera to which it isaffixed will be caused to slide lengthwise on the swivel-bed, therebyeffecting the adjustment for focusing. rIhe pinion is located within asuitable recess in one ofthe sliding blocks, and this arrangement may beemployed either with or without the bindingscrew i', Fig. 15. When thisarrangement is adopted an additional recess, b', should be cut in thebottom of the recess b in the central boss of the swivel-bed to permitof the turningofthe blockm., carrying thepinion t, therein.

In Figs. 19 and 2O I have represented another modiiied means ofobtaining the focusing adjustment. swivel-bed C with a screw, in,arranged lengthwise of one of the bars, and arranged to mesh with asuitable nut on the bottom or side of the sliding block a. rIhe screw lwmay, if preferred, extend the whole length of the bar d, and provisionshould be made by means ot` suitable collars orjournals to preventend-play in the screw. The screw is provided with a thumb-nut, y,outside of the end of the swivelbed, and this arrangement may be usedwith or without the binding-screw c, Fig. 19.

In order to provide for adjusting the focusing-screen at an angle withthe optical axis of the camera, the camera-back l5 may be attached tothe sliding block on by any suitable form of joint.

Any usual or preferred form of plate-holder may be used in connectionwith my improved swivel-bed camera.

My improved swivel-bed my be used in connection with any ordinaryflat-headed tripod, in which case the lower side ofthe bed will beprovided with a plane surface and a screw for aiixing it to the tripod;or the central boss may be provided with a curved surface in order toadapt it to be used with a tripod-head having a convex upper surface inthe manner It consists in providing thel IOO IOS

IIO

representedin my previous patent, No. 259,064, dated June 6, 1882.

The front and back of my improved camera may be constructed of wood orother suitable material in any usual or preferred way. l have, however,invented an improved mode of constructing these parts whereby I amenabled to materially cbeapen the cost of their production.

My improved mode of constructing camera backs and fronts consists in theemployment of a right-angled molding of a form substantially as shown insectional view, Fig. 9. l employ a molding` ot' this form in convenientlengths, and by the use of a miter-box or other suitable device l dividethe molding into triangular sections on the diagonal lines Q Q, Fig. 8,rejecting each alternate piece J J. The inclination and distance apartofthe lines Q Q. may be proportioned so as to produce sections K Kadapted to the construction of cameras of any desired size. lt'it isdesired to produce a small camera, the sections K K will be of equalsize, and if the intention is to constructan oblong camera two ofthesections K K will be cut longer than those which form the ends of thecamera. rlhecamerabody is formed by joining' four of the triangularpieces K together at their edges by any suitable form ofjoint. Thediagonal sides ot' those triangular pieces are preferably joined byatongue and groove, as represented by the dotted lines g in Fig. l0. Thebox or frame thus formed is then divided parallel to the front of thecamera on the line a/ c', Figui), that portion to the right hand oftheline c in said figure forming the camera-front, the portion between thelines c and c forming the back, and the remaining portion to the let'thand ot` the line c in said iigure constituting the frame D for thefocus` ing-screen. This method ot' construction possesses the followingadvantages l am enabled to use the same form ot' molding for all sizesof cameras, it materially reduces the number of pieces employed in theconstruction ot' a camera, and cameras thus constructed posses greatstrength, while .they niay be pro duced ata very much reduced cost.

In order to provide for the adjustment ofthe vertical position of thelens on the front of my improved camera, I form a raised panel, G,thereon by cutting away the outer surface thereof on the dotted lineso', Fig. 9. The panel G may be either round or square, and through it isformed a vertical groove, in which the plate H, carrying the lens E,slides.

Instead of forming the molding from which my improved camera body isconstructed in one piece, it may be formed in two pieces, jointedtogether in any suitable fashion, as represented at k', Fig. 22.

Itis obvious that various modifications of my improved swivel-bed may beadopted without departing from the principle ofthe invention. Thus thecamera front and back may be attached to the swivel-bed by mechanicaldevices other than the sliding blocks, and varions other changes may beintroduced in the construction of the camera 5 but my invention will beembodied under any change of form in all cameras in which the bedswivels so as to occupy, when the camera is closed, a positionsubstantially parallel with the front and back, thereby insuring theutmost completeness and portability.

1t is obvious that a camera provided with my improved swivel-bed may bemade reversible by placing sliding blocks on both the sides and bottomof the camera front and back.

l claiml. In combination with a photographic camera, the swivel-bed C,substantially as de scribed.

2. The combination ot' the camera front and back A and B, bellows L,swivel-bed U, and sliding blocks m and a, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a photographic camera, ot' the swivel-bed U,sliding bloclr a, and mechanism for effecting the adjustment forfocusing, substantially as described.

4. In combination with a photographic camera, the swivel-bed C, providedwith the extension-slide N, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a photographic camera, of the swivel-bed C,focusing-screw w, and sliding block n', substantially as described.

6. The combination ofthe camera front and back A and B, bellows L,swivel-bed G, sliding blocks m and a, and means for securing the slidingblock in place on the bed, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

7. The herein-described photographic camera, consisting of a bed, C,bellows L, and relatively adjustable front A and bacl; B, either or bothbeing formed by the union by their oblique edges ot sections cut from asnitable angular molding, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

VM. H. WALKER Witnesses:

GEO. B. SELDEN, H. G. PHILLIPS.

ICO

